Rotovegas is the Mecca of MTB in NZ. The area is also one of the most active geothermal spots in the country. I think they call it vegas because it's kind of a tourist trap with lots of overpriced, cheesy things to do. I wasn't actually sure I would even go to the town, but since Bernie said he would meet me and we'd do some MTB, I thought that would be a fun thing to do. So off I went. It's been raining here a lot - winter is settling in now. I'd say like 5 or 6 days out of the week it's raining most, if not all day long. When I arrived early arvo we sat down to come up with a plan for the next couple of days. The following day we managed to get a shuttle that took us to Wai-o-tapu Park when it opened at 8:30 AM. We were the first there and during our 3 km trek around the park, taking in the sulphur pools, bubbling mud, and geysers, we didn't meet another person until we were at least 3/4 done. At 10 AM our shuttle driver picked us up and took us over to the Lady Knox Geyser where they dump some soap in and set off the geyser on a schedule (otherwise it would only erupt once every 72 hours or something).
At Waiotapu...
The weather was not improving much, but the afternoon was decent to ride a MTB and we'd arranged to be back by 11 AM to hop on some bikes and take to the trails! We also figured we'd ride down to the Buried Village since it's not far from the trails. We were totally gutted to find out that they weren't letting people on the trails because it had been raining for far too many consecutive days and it was too wet. This is highly unusual! Apparently this area has some of the best soil drainage and of course, MTB is meant to be dirty. So needless to say, it was quite a let-down to not get to do some proper MTB in NZ before leaving. It will have to stay on my list of things to do if I come back here one day.
Returning to Auckland it was still raining. My Canadian mate, Holly, and I had been discussing the possibility of doing a skydive before leaving the country since we could get a deal on it right now, being off-season and all. Earlier in the week we'd checked in on it but the weather was not good. We'd actually written it off altogether since the forecast was really not looking promising for the remainder of our stay. Friday morning though, we got up and the sky was clear as!! So we ventured into the city and checked in to see if it might be a go - and it was! We got picked up downtown at 1 PM and headed off about 70 km south of Auckland. While waiting for the shuttle, I have to say, the reality of it started sinking in and I started to freak out! Holly was firm and said she wouldn't be doing it if I hadn't suggested it and that she was NOT retracting. I calmed down after a bit, but I was so nervous the whole time until the jump. In theory it sounds really fun and cool and then you realize what you are about to embark upon and you start to wonder if you really want to do it.
The clouds got progressively bigger and more numerous as the afternoon wore on, but the rain held out until late that night. There were seven of us who went out - all women! It took a long time, as most of us went up individually since they were a bit short of staff and one of the 2 tandem jump 'masters', as they call them, had to work 'ground crew' (pack up chutes, etc - important job!). So only two of the girls got to jump together when the other tandem master went up as well. Holly went first. I was second up, so I was waiting at the airfield when she landed and the plane came back in. She looked so excited when she was landing and told me how amazing it was before I headed off so I felt slightly better but still fairly nervous. I love flying. Up in the plane my feelings were so mixed. I was loving the plane ride - smallest plane I've been on - and the views, and yet at the same time I kept having to remind myself to breathe! I tend to hold my breath when I'm nervous or focused. Not uncommon, but still. When we were ready to jump and they opened the door I momentarily grabbed for the bench inside the plane! That makes me laugh now. I remember thinking to myself, 'Don't do that. Don't be silly. Just go for it.' So it was a very brief grab for something solid. Next thing I knew I was dangling off the side of the plane and we were about to jump out. In fact, before I could even think much about dangling off the side of the plane we were out!!
At first I had my eyes closed and then Roy, my tandem master, tapped my shoulder and pointed to Seagull, our video jumper (I have a video!), so I opened them and waved at him. Then I looked around and down - WOW!!!!!!!!!!! We were free falling for 30 or 40 seconds or something. I don't know exactly. It was kinda difficult to breathe because the air is rushing up at you so fast, but I managed a few inhales through my nose and slobbery exhales through my mouth. I was talking to the camera a bit - I think I mostly said "holy s#!t'. I was just so amazed to be flying through the air. I love flying and this was about the best it could get! Then when Roy pulled the shoot we were jolted almost upwards. In the video you can see my legs fly up as a result of the force. And then we floated down pretty gently and did some spirally stuff and I was just taking it all in. I asked him what this and that was on the horizon and he moved us around to show me around and point out Auckland in the distance. WOW!!!! Then I figured out where we were in relation to the skydive centre and realized we would be landing soon. I could have stayed up longer! I think I will probably do that again one day. It was out of this world!!!!! I cannot describe it accurately enough to give you a feel for it. Honestly, it's something you have to do to know how it feels. I'm really glad we did it!!! I'm really, really glad that Holly didn't let me back out!!!!
I have two days left in Auckland and hope that the rain eases up a little bit so I can venture out to at least one spot I have in mind before I leave. Should be able to get one last post in then and will be of to Oz the next month... extended my trip for those who didn't know. I'm not quite ready to come home yet. Soon enough, but not quite yet...
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